The Haunting
by Heroe
Summary: Something goes bump in the night. Response to prompt six (night in) for SasuSaku Month. COMPLETE.


**Summary**: Something goes bump in the night. Response to prompt six (night in) for SasuSaku Month.

**Disclaimer**: Naruto is (c) Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha, Inc.

**THE HAUNTING**

"I'm going to kill him."

The threat earned an indelicate snort.

"I'm seriously going to kill him this time," Uchiha Sasuke declared.

Haruno Sakura gave an exaggerated roll of the eyes. "You've been saying that since we were twelve years old, and haven't followed through yet."

"He broke my fucking ankle!" Sasuke snapped.

"And I'm mending it, so quit whining," Sakura rejoined while kneeling and allowing her healing chakra to flow into the injured extremity.

Her dismissiveness only fueled Sasuke's ire, but he said nothing further. Instead, he mulishly tilted his head and stared at the darkened clouds that had begun to accumulate in the sky. With more than a little amusement, the medic-nin realized that she was now being given the silent treatment. _How mature._

In all honesty, Sakura could understand his pique. Team Kakashi had been assigned a low-level escort mission and were attacked by some mediocre bandits while en route. Their idiotic teammate, Uzumaki Naruto, had taunted Sasuke with a competition to see who could defeat the most bandits without utilizing any jutsu. The blond knucklehead had not waited for Sasuke to accept the challenge, and jumped headfirst into battle with the intent of eliminating the bandits that were nearest to his longtime rival. Then, in usual Naruto fashion, one misstep led to another and, before they knew it, he and Sasuke were on the ground in a tangled heap. A broken ankle was the result of his childish antics.

"It's getting late and the incoming storm's not going to hold off long," Sakura stated what Sasuke had undoubtedly been thinking. "Since Kakashi-sensei and Naruto are completing the mission alone and you'll require a few hours to fully recuperate, we should find shelter."

Her sullen companion did not respond.

"If memory serves, there's an inn not too far from here. We can rent a couple of rooms for the night."

"Hn."

Taking the brief utterance as consent, Sakura gave his ankle one last critical look before standing. She had done all she could. The kunoichi proceeded to hold out her hand to assist Sasuke to his feet, which he stubbornly refused in lieu of clumsily rising on his own. _Stupid. Uchiha. Pride._

A ten minute walk turned into thirty thanks to Sasuke's need to be self-reliant. Despite his obstinacy, they were lucky enough to reach the inn as the first droplets of rain started to descend.

"You want to stay _here_?"

Of course, when Sasuke chose to end his silence, it would be to complain of all things.

The inn was a dilapidated, two-story construct. Its wooden exterior showed indications of rot and the glass windows were dirt encrusted with no light escaping from within. It had a poorly maintained yard with a fractured, concrete path that led to the entrance. A partially hung vacancy sign swayed due to the looming storm's ominous wind.

"It's not as if we have a lot of options, Sasuke-kun. The next inn is miles away."

"Fine," he yielded and unhappily limped toward the entrance.

Sakura stifled her laughter at the snobbish behavior. It was rather surprising under the circumstances. Sasuke had been a missing-nin for years and surely resided in worse locations. It made her wonder if his return to Konoha had actually made him softer, not that she would ever broach the topic aloud.

Once inside the foyer, Sakura could not help but wince at the continued disrepair. Gas lanterns were the only source of illumination, yet it was easy to see that the furnishings were dull and aged, every surface was swathed with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs decorated each nook and cranny.

Nonetheless, she was determined to be optimistic. "It appears there's no electricity, but at least it's dry."

A scowl was received for her efforts.

"Welcome," a somber voice suddenly intoned from their right. The two ninja pivoted in unison, wary from not having heard the innkeeper's approach. He was a tall, gaunt figure with beady eyes and a balding head. His clothing was sorely outdated and his mouth seemed to be permanently affixed into a downward arc. "Two rooms?"

"One," Sasuke corrected.

Sakura was relieved. Now that they were inside and had met the innkeeper, the idea of separate rooms was not at all favorable. This especially held true when the innkeeper's discomfiting gaze centered on her for an extended period.

"As you wish," the innkeeper droned.

After registering and being ushered to their room, Sakura sagged against a shabbily papered wall. "Okay, that guy was just creepy."

Sasuke had already eased himself onto the worn futon and was in the process of rubbing his swollen, discolored ankle. "Go prepare for bed, Sakura. I'll keep watch."

"There's no electricity," she reminded. "If I take a shower, the water's going to be cold."

"Better now than in the morning."

Sakura could not argue with that logic. The thought of traveling with wet hair during the frigid morning hours made her shiver and goosebumps developed on the skin.

"I'm going to leave the restroom door open so we can share the lantern, Sasuke-kun."

He waved a negligent hand as if to say, "Do what you will."

The shower was quick and chilled Sakura to the bone. She dried and securely tucked a towel around her middle before shuffling to the sink. She then retrieved her comb and absentmindedly ran it through dampened strands. A dozen or so strokes later, she caught a shadow of movement in the dimly lit mirror that was situated above the sink.

Assuming the silhouette to be her teammate, Sakura went into medic-mode. "You should really stay off that foot until tomorrow, Sasuke-kun."

"Hmpf," Sasuke grunted from the main guestroom.

He sounded as though he had not gotten up from the futon which, worrisomely, did not explain the shape Sakura had seen in the mirror. She whirled, only to inexplicably observe that she was alone in the restroom.

"You're being paranoid," she muttered. "This spooky inn has your imagination running amuck."

Sasuke cut her rambling short. "What the hell's taking you so long? I'd like to sleep at some point tonight."

Sakura hurriedly finished her ablutions, donned her sleeping attire and sheepishly exited the restroom. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun."

His back was to her and he was lying on the edge of the sole futon. A generous portion of the padded mattress had been left available for her personal use. She smiled at the consideration. Surmising that he intended to shower and whatnot on the morrow, she snuffed out the lantern after becoming comfortably settled. Sleep came on swift wings.

It was well past midnight and the storm kept raging. The limbs of a red maple insistently knocked at the window of their room. Sakura shifted at the commotion, but did not wholly rouse. She was soothed by a masculine hand that came to rest upon her abdomen.

When the hand crept upward and touched the curvature of her breast, all vestiges of sleep dissipated. Thinking this to be an involuntary reaction from her slumbering bedmate, Sakura was flushed and flustered as she reached to extract the hand. However, before she had an opportunity to carry out the deed, the hand scaled high enough for lengthy fingers to encompass her fragile neck.

The fingers tightened, mercilessly disrupting Sakura's airflow. Panic hit. She thrashed about the futon and clawed at her neck for release. Peculiarly, for all her power, she could not find the strength to break free of the terrible hold.

"Sakura! Sakura!?"

Sasuke was frantic as he pulled her convulsing form into his arms. She peered at him with wide, frightened eyes while still scraping at the ghastly hand circling her neck.

"Snap out of it, Sakura!"

At Sasuke's shouted command, the strangulation halted and she was miraculously able to breathe again. She cradled her abused throat, simultaneously coughing, wheezing and attempting to inhale large quantities of oxygen. It took a fair amount of time for her to gather that she remained in Sasuke's protective embrace.

"You had a nightmare," he consoled. "Just a nightmare. You're alright."

"No," she gasped. "Not a nightmare... there was _someone_ in here... _something_ in here... choking me!"

"I was here, Sakura. There wasn't anyone else in the room."

She pushed out of his arms and fumbled for the lantern. Under its gentle glow, she gestured to her neck. "Tell me this was just a nightmare!"

Sasuke carefully studied the damage that had been wrought to her neck. The ugly abrasions that had been inflicted by her nails were predominant and secreted any previous harm that may have existed.

"Let me get you a moist cloth and cup of water. We'll clean you up then work on healing your wounds."

"I'm not making this up, Sasuke-kun!"

As he entered the restroom, Sakura ran shaky fingers through her untidy tresses and looked unseeingly at the rumpled futon. Sadly, it was only a matter of seconds before her recovery was interrupted by a loud crash. Her head swiveled in Sasuke's direction to see that the restroom door had been closed.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Incessant banging and cursing could be heard from the other side of the door.

Climbing from the futon, Sakura speedily crossed the room and grabbed the knob. She tried to twist it to no avail. The door was locked.

Temper escalating, then and there she decided that enough was enough.

"Stand back, Sasuke-kun!"

No additional warning was given as her chakra-laced fist made contact with the door, tearing the wood from its hinges.

Sakura glowered at her liberated teammate. "Just a nightmare, eh?"

Sasuke persisted with his skepticism. "Any number of reasons could have caused the door to stick. The bogeyman is a bit farfetched."

Immediately thereafter, a shrill cry of unknown origin pierced the air; the taps of the shower and sink gushed crimson liquid of their own accord; window glass shattered from the relentless branches of the maple red; and, the lantern died thereby shrouding them in pitch black.

"I'm not one to say I told you so..."

Sakura trailed off as Sasuke, with his kekkei genkai blazing, limped past her and returned to the main guestroom. She listened to him purposefully move about the area, but could not see to ascertain what he was doing. Sakura's confusion increased when familiar fabric whipped against her face.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Get dressed," he ordered.

"We're leaving? But it's a downpour out there."

Sasuke's tone was beyond impatient. "You'd rather stay _here_?"

"Point taken."

**THE END**


End file.
